Broken Defence - Revised -- Pt. 02

Midway through our meal, Caroline's phone rang, and I saw her eye the number suspiciously as she walked off. The 3 of us still seated shrugged our shoulders and went back to our steak. When she returned, she seemed distracted and wouldn't hold eye contact.

"All okay?" Dionne asked.

"Yes, yep all fine," Caroline replied, refusing to meet any of our eyes and winning the 'least convincing response of the year' award.

All 4 of us were shocked to find Holly wasn't in the starting 11 nor was she on the bench.

"Injury?" Jake floated aloud.

The England Manager confirmed as much shortly afterwards in the pre-game interview. I was gutted for Holly and hoped it was just for the one game. I had seen first-hand how much effort had gone into her preparation for this tournament. If it ended after just one game, it would crush her.

I sent her as much of a positive message as I could without knowing the circumstances and asked her to update me later. I didn't get a reply and I didn't expect to with the game about to start. I kept an eye out all game for any sight of her on TV with the rest of the team on the bench but there was none.

England won their second game which put them through to the quarter-finals with a game to spare. It would allow the manager to rest some players and let some of the other players have a run-out, including Olivia. We watched the 3rd match from the bar again but with the knowledge that we had tickets for the rest of the games which were all in our city.

Holly again missed out, the calf strain from the 2nd game still not fully healed. Caroline had gone to visit her to see how she was doing. I longed for a reason to join her, but I didn't have one. It was one thing to be the manager of Holly's club but quite another to be the press person at her club when the national team had their own team.

I found myself caught up in the excitement of the tournament after England won their 3rd game. I finished off a match report while drinking a pint of lager and sent it off to Georgia to proofread. The buzz of the tournament had certainly got to my writing as it was much more superfluous and flowery than normal, came Georgia's critical response. Dionne, Jake and I decided to stay on for a few more drinks. Caroline departed soon after the final whistle with her phone in hand.

I awoke to my hotel phone ringing. I sat up and checked the time. 01:12 am. The phone was on a table on the other side of the room which meant getting out of bed. A poor design which would lose the hotel a star on my review, I'd just decided.

I picked up. "Hello?" I said sleepily.

"Eh Mr Bradley, there is a woman 'ere to see you. 'Olly."

"Oh! Let her up please!" I said, surprised and excited. Maybe I should have been worried, it was 1 am after all, but my excitement about seeing Holly outweighed any rational thought.

I had the door open, and I was hanging out of it when the lift opened, and Holly walked out in her team tracksuit.

"Alright, calm down," she smirked, "you look like a lovesick puppy."

"I'm sorry, the man you're looking for is next door. It is a closed-off arsehole you're here to see, isn't it?" I responded lamely. I was tired.

Holly paused at the door and kissed me on the lips. She pulled away with her eyes still closed. "I needed that," she whispered quietly.

I let her pass and closed the door behind us. The hotel room only had a bed and a desk, so I offered both and she chose the chair.

"So, as happy as I am to see you, what are you doing here? Isn't this risking a suspension? Wait, Holly, you shouldn't be here!" I added in alarm, my brain waking up and catching on.

"Stop, Tom. Just stop. Don't speak, don't interrupt. Please."

Uh oh. A million thoughts ran through my head, so I sat down on the bed facing Holly before my head swam. She nodded at my compliance; her face paler than I initially noticed.

"I withdrew from the team tonight. It'll be announced tomorrow." I opened my mouth and then stopped when Holly flashed me an almost-pleading look.

"They'll say it's a calf injury but it's not." She swallowed. "It's morning sickness."

*****

Epilogue:

The commentator's voice was booming through the lounge in the stadium.

"And there's Holly Dane, her return for the start of this tournament is a welcome one for her manager Caroline Noakes who used to manage her at club level, of course."

The co-commentator joined the discussion.

"That's right, it's been 2 years since she withdrew from the European Championships and now, she's back to captain England. Hopefully, it'll be all the way this time after the semi-final heartache at the last tournament. She hasn't played much football since returning from maternity leave and the well-documented complications following her pregnancy. If she's fit, England have a chance."

I walked out of the lounge and through the doors into the roar of the stadium. I was in the corporate area; the National Team had seen to that at Holly's request. No more missing her play. Lizzie was in my arms, her stroller with Sylvia who was sitting in the lounge with a plate of fancy food.

"There's Mummy, look!" I said to her sleeping face.

I watched Holly take her position in defence and crouch down. She rubbed the turf, grateful to be back on it. She stood back up and kissed the tattoo on her inner arm. I knew it well as I went with her to get it after she finally left the hospital and recovered, weeks after giving birth. It read 'never stay down'.